Managing Site Surveys? What are your options and how do they compare?
What is involved in managing site surveys?
In any construction project site surveys are extremely important in order to mitigate any potential risks on the site before it’s too late. These surveys include archaeology surveys, topographical surveys, utility surveys, geotechnical surveys and many more. A full list of the key surveys can be seen here.
The process of managing these surveys has traditionally been very time consuming but they are essential in mitigating risks on your site and reducing your liability if things go wrong. The best practice approach of managing these surveys includes the following actions:
- Identify what surveys you need – Each site is different and as such it may require different surveys. For example if your site does not have any existing buildings then you would not require an asbestos survey.
- Find multiple surveyors per survey – This will allow you to get multiple quotes and guarantee competitive quotes. These are sometimes found through existing contacts, from colleagues, from frameworks or from a google search
- Ensure that each surveyor is competent in their discipline – Here suppliers will need to complete a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) to ensure that they have the competency and ability to deliver their surveys successfully. In this section you would also verify the suppliers insurance levels, past experience and the company’s financial standing. If this is not completed adequately you will be liable if a future issue occurs and an insurance claim is made against your organisation.
- Define the scope for the survey -It is very important that the scope of each survey is well defined. This will allow each supplier to price for the exact same work and it will simplify comparing quotes. Additionally it will allow each supplier to know what they need to deliver within their reports if successful.
- Collate the separate quotes into a Tender Report and instruct your preferred suppliers – A Tender Report is a document that compares all the quotes received usually with illustrated graphs. For each survey you would need to compare the quotes received with each other to enable you to select your preferred supplier. Best practice is to receive a minimum of three quotes to demonstrate best value. Once the preferred supplier is chosen per service you would need to instruct them and sign up to lots of varying T&C’s from each surveyor. Their T&C’s may also affect their scope and thus their price.
- Manage the chosen suppliers and the separate site visits – Once you have instructed your preferred suppliers you will need to agree the site visit dates. However before you do this you will need to review and approve their Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) prior to them attending the site. Approving the RAMS before they go on site is extremely important as otherwise you will be liable for a H&S breach via the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) 2015.
- Receive and read all the technical reports – Once the surveys are completed you will receive an onslaught of multiple emails, WeTransfers and ZIP files containing all the separate reports and corresponding appendices. You or a poor team member will then need to read each report and highlight any next steps or additional surveys recommended. These reports are notorious for not making the next steps and recommendations clear enough for the reader.
- Store all the reports and share them with your colleagues and design team – You may then need to share these reports with your project team which may mean even more WeTransfers and ZIP files – not fun.
We have worked with many clients. Some would have taken all the above steps but many did not have the time and would therefore take a few shortcuts by only completing a few of the above steps
At RenKap we take care of all of the above for you in one platform. Just register and upload your site and we take care of the rest. Now you can adhere to a best practice approach on all of your surveys with a fraction of the effort.
What are your options for managing these works?
Before RenKap was invented, clients would undertake these surveys by either laboriously managing the works themselves or appointing an external consultant to manage the works on their behalf. These consultants are extremely valuable and many are currently also using RenKap.
Regardless if the client manages the works themselves or if a consultant manages the works, the stage related to finding surveyors and ensuring that those surveyors are competent will vary. This could either be done by using existing frameworks or through existing relationships with suppliers.
Frameworks: benefits and disadvantages
The good thing about a framework is that suppliers have already been approved by a third party so you can be confident that those suppliers should be of a high quality. The negative side of a framework is that you will still need to manage all the other site survey stages highlighted above. Essentially, you (or your consultant) will still need to manage the majority of the work. Additionally you will need to pay a % fee to the framework.
Existing relationships: benefits and disadvantages
The great thing about having existing relationships with suppliers is that you know them and they will most likely quickly give you a price and they will most likely deliver a good output. The bad part is that it is hard to have direct relationships with so many suppliers for varying surveys and as such the client may only get one price for the survey as its easier and faster than going out to new suppliers. Essentially the downside here is that the best practice approach defined above is not adhered to and the client can become liable or may not be receiving competitive open market prices.
Searching on Google: benefits and disadvantages
This is best in the event that you do not have access to a framework or existing relationships. However this is a very slow and laborious route and you will need each supplier to pass a pre-qualification questionnaire to ensure they are competent and capable of delivering at a high standard.
How do these options compare to the RenKap offering?
The below comparison sheet provides an overview of how the traditional methods for managing site surveys compare to RenKap. The existing methods use a combination of manual management (either in-house or consultancy) and the use of frameworks. However sometimes frameworks are not used at all because surveyors may be found via existing relationships or via a google search as explained above.
This sheet also clearly demonstrates the downside of using frameworks. They are good for accessing suppliers but then 80% of the work is still to be done. Also the downside of manual management is that the best practice process is not always follows which can open you up to liabilities if things go wrong in the future.
At RenKap we take away the pain from managing your site surveys whilst giving you the reassurance that RICS and British Standard best practice procedures are adhered to throughout. We are also public sector compliant via the governments G Cloud framework so procuring us is a breeze – see G Cloud video here.
RenKap reduces your management time by over 99% and your costs by 85% whilst ensuring to deliver a best practice service on every project. With us you will save time and money whilst resting assured that you will reduce your site risks and liabilities across your sites.
The only site investigation checklist you need
Download our site investigation checklist, which covers the 13 site investigation surveys you need to complete on every site. This includes a rundown of why you need each of them and at what stage throughout the project lifecycle.
The only site investigation checklist you need
Download our site investigation checklist, which covers the 13 site investigation surveys you need to complete on every site. This includes a rundown of why you need each of them and at what stage throughout the project lifecycle.